Thursday, April 24, 2008

Washing Machine!

Craigslist is a wonderful thing. Our place in Milwaukee has its positives and negative. On the positive side, we are in a great neighborhood with a beautiful hard wood floors with a ton of storage and space in general. On the other hand, we are sorely lack in several amenities that we had in Provo. First off, we don't have a dishwasher. I thought that was going to be a huge deal for us because even when we had one there were always dirty dishes, but not having one and having limited counter space really keeps us motivated to clean up after ourselves. The second thing that was lacking is central air. Since most of our time in Milwaukee has been spent below freezing, that's not too much of a problem. But the first month or so we were here it was unbearably hot and humid. We fixed that problem by getting a window unit for our bedroom and are looking into getting them for the other rooms in the house. The third and final thing that we lost when we moved here was a washer/dryer. We have coin operated ones in the basement, but we usually ended up at the laundry mat. Well, no longer because thanks to craigslist, we have fixed this problem!!
Our new washer is great! It hooks up to the sink and runs on a regular three-prong outlet. I hang my clothes to dry and since we got it last Saturday, I think I've done maybe ten loads of laundry. Portable washers are definitely great for people without W/D hookups and with limited space. My only complaint is that it gets unbalanced really easily so I kind of have to watch it. It's a really cool little machine and so far it's been great. Thank you craigslist!

Tuesday, April 15, 2008

More on Hurley

Hurley earned the nickname "demon hamster" this week because of a rather odd episode on Saturday. I came home in the middle of the afternoon and tapped on the cage to see if he was in there. He had buried himself under a pile of bedding to sleep and it was impossible to tell if he was there or not. (I'm afraid he will escape) At any rate, it woke him up and he stumbled around all sleepy-like and then went back to sleep. I picked up a comic book and started to read it, still sitting in front of his cage. He woke up about five minutes later, came out, and started to growl. Now, I've had many hamsters over the years and none of them have ever growled (or made any other noise). It sounded kind of like a scream. Click here to hear something like it. He then proceeded to stand up on his little back paws, bear his teeth and lunge at me several times (he growled the whole time). About five minutes later, everything was totally normal again and he has never exhibited this behavior since then or (to my knowledge) before that weird, weird day. Thankfully, Spencer saw it happen so he knows I'm not crazy. But my hamster may be....

Monday, April 14, 2008

Hurley the Hamster

Megan made this video of Hurley running.



Here are some pictures of Hurley as well (click for large picture):

Monday and More Pictures

It was back to school for me this morning. This is the last week before our third set of exams for the semester. Luckily, there is more "study time" built into this week so it will not be a very stressful week. In less than 7 weeks my first year at medical school will be over, and the following Monday I start my job in the Department of Surgery. Luckily, there will be plenty of vacation, camping, and relaxation that is planned for the summer in addition to working.

I uploaded more pictures to the slideshow on the sidebar. If you click on it, it will take you to a bigger picture and the whole album of pictures I put up. These pictures range from right after my mission to my journeys through Southeast Asia, my marriage and on through my start here at medical school. They are some of my favorites.

I am looking forward to American Idol tomorrow and will probably have a few thoughts after the show.

Sunday, April 13, 2008

When in Rome. . .

I figure since I don't have the desire to design an efficient place to post thoughts and updates for my friends and family I would place a link to this blog hosted by blogger.com on my personal website. I had been trying to keep up with the website, but it is not as user-friendly as blogger. And, as the title mentions, when in Rome do as the Romans do. Many of my friends and family members use blogger so I figured I should as well. Welcome to all who read the Russell Review.
~Sp